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Britain's head of mission at the Paralympics, Penny Briscoe, said it was an “absolute disgrace” that 11-time Paralympic gold medallist Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson was forced to “crawl” off a train.
The former wheelchair racer arrived at London's King's Cross station on Monday evening on a London North Eastern train but there was no one to help her. Baroness Gray-Thompson had booked an assistant to help her off the 19.15 train from Leeds but missed it and took the 19.45 train instead.
She says she “had a contract” and was supposed to be helped off the train, but after 20 minutes no one came.
“So I decided to crawl out of the train,” the 55-year-old told the BBC.
“Trains were supposed to be step-free by January 1, 2020. It’s exhausting. I was really angry last night. I can pretty much do it (get off the train) but there are so many other disabled people who can’t and would have been stuck for who knows when. In this day and age it’s just not right,” she continued.
“It is an experience that people with disabilities live with on a daily basis,” said Briscoe, speaking from British Paralympics headquarters in Paris. “It simply goes unreported.
“As a disabled person, you should be able to get on and off the train and go about your daily life, but the reality is much harder than that. As the British Paralympic Committee, we are trying to inspire a better world for people with disabilities. We want change and our athletes want change. There is still so much more to do and we cannot stop demanding that change and creating a fairer society.”
LNER Spokesperson He told the BBC: She was investigating the incident and expressed “regret that there was a problem”.
Great Britain's Paralympic team chief, Briscoe (Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images)
This is the first time Paris has hosted the Paralympics, and Briscoe said the city is “on a journey towards accessibility.”
“We know that their bus services are 100 percent accessible,” she added. “The bus fleet they brought for the athletes has six wheelchair spaces on each bus. We know that Paris has become more accessible because of the Games. Their metro system is being developed.
“The number of accessible bathrooms in hotels in Paris is still a problem, especially in older hotels. There are no more than one or two in each hotel, and that is not enough if you are welcoming athletes or spectators with disabilities into the surrounding environment. It is a global challenge in terms of accessibility. We faced this challenge in Tokyo.
“Paris’ goal in terms of legacy is to use the Games to create a more accessible society for Parisians and we have to support them on this journey, this doesn’t happen overnight.”
Baroness Grey-Thompson won a total of 16 Paralympic medals in the 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m and 4 x 100m relay between 1988 and 2004. She is the fourth most decorated British Paralympic athlete of all time.
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(Boris Strobel/Getty Images for Laureus)
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